Eleni
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4.5 • 46 Ratings
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
"A devoted and brilliant achievement." The New York Review of Books
In 1948, as civil war ravaged Greece, children were abducted and sent to communist "camps" behind the Iron Curtain. Eleni Gatzoyiannis, 41, defied the traditions of her small village and the terror of the communist insurgents to arrange for the escape of her three daughters and her son, Nicola. For that act, she was imprisoned, tortured, and executed in cold blood. Nicholas Gage joined his father in Massachusetts at the age of nine and grew up to be a top investigative reporter for the New York Times. And finally he returned to Greece to uncover the story he cared about most -- the story of his mother's heroic life and tragic death.
Customer Reviews
Of all the non-fiction I've ever read...
This stroke me the hardest. My Yiayia(that is grandmother), a great woman, thankfully born in the island of Cyprus, gave me this book, and told me to read it.
I held onto it for years before I actually picked it up again, and started reading it for a European history assignment. When I found that some of the pages in the book were missing, I bought this book off iTunes without hesitation.
I feel stupid now, having waited for so long.
Eleni gave me a better understanding of them than I had ever known. For that, I will always be thankful.
If you read it, you will be sure to discover something about yourself, or your family, or someone close to you as well. It doesn't matter of your Greek or not. So long as you have a human conscience, this book will ring true to your heart.
Gripping
This is a gripping family drama set during the German occupation of Greece and the civil war that followed it. A true story replete with heroes and villains, history, politics, adventure, glory, betrayal, tragedy and ultimately, survival. Couldn't put it down.